Compton College Trustees' President Faces Bribery Trial

Carl E. Robinson Sr., president of the Compton Community College trustees and a two-time Carson City Council candidate, was bound over for re-arraignment in Superior Court after a Los Angeles magistrate ruled that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to accuse him of accepting a $500 political bribe.

After testimony from two state witnesses in a 40-minute hearing Wednesday, Municipal Judge Edward L. Davenport directed Robinson to enter a plea to the single felony charge Sept. 12. At that point, a trial date will be set.

The 50-year-old Robinson, who remains free on $3,000 bail, has steadfastly denied the allegation.

On March 21, he was arrested in the parking lot of a Wilmington restaurant after accepting $500 from a West Covina accountant who had previously won a college contract that Robinson voted to approve. The accountant, Rolland Boceta, had alerted district attorney's investigators, who tape-recorded his conversations with Robinson and ultimately made the arrest.

Robinson acknowledges receiving the cash, but he said it was a campaign contribution.